By Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal
March 30th 2012, Star Rock, Chennai, India: Mumbai-based horror-themed heavy metal band Albatross have just released their second EP “The Kissing Flies”, and last night in Chennai they kicked off their 5-gig EP launch tour across the country. They headlined “Score Night”, a weekly music event presented by The Score Magazine. It also happened to be their first ever gig in Chennai, and support came form locally based hard rock band 83 MPH. This was a special gig for me, in more ways than one. In addition to this being the first show in India I went to after a five-year gap, it was my first time seeing Albatross, and as a result, I had really high expectations from this gig. Based on what I saw, I would honestly say it fulfilled these expectations.
To start with, it wasn’t exactly the kind of setting I had imagined in my mind. Despite having been to all kinds of venues during my time in LA, ranging from absolute dumpsters to massive arenas, the Star Rock in Chennai turned out to be quite unlike any place I’d ever been to before. Located in the basement of the Spring Hotel, a three-star hotel no less, at first sight it looked a little too clean, a little too classy for a metal venue. Most of the people in the crowd were dressed in work clothes as opposed to metal band t-shirts. For a second, I actually thought I had ended up at the wrong venue. But it indeed was the correct venue, and it’s heartening to note that such places are willing to support the metal scene. Continue reading “Albatross Thrills Chennai Audience”